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Max Rockatansky
"I'm scared, Fif. It's that rat circus out there, I'm beginning to enjoy it. Look, any longer out on that road and I'm one of them, a terminal psychotic, except that I've got this bronze badge that says that I'm one of the good guys." ―Max "Mad" Max Rockatansky, sometimes referred to as The Road Warrior, is the protagonist from director George Miller's Mad Max series, appearing in the films Mad Max, Mad Max: The Road Warrior, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and the upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road. Max is portrayed by both Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy. Biography ''Mad Max'' Maximillian "Max" Rockatansky started his apocalyptic adventure as a Main Force Patrol officer who fought for peace on the decaying roads of Australian civilization. Max served as the last line of defense against the reckless mauraders terrorizing the roadways, driving a V8 Interceptor. With the world about to crumble, Max said little and paid little awareness to his ever growing reputation as the cop that successfully put away the gangs due to his outstanding, and increasingly ruthless, driving skills. In fact, we were introduced to Max as he joined the pursuit of the man calling himself "Nightrider," the self-proclaimed "fuel-injected suicide machine." In order to stop Nightrider's rampage, Max rammed the man's car at top speed, sending it wheeling out of control, unto total destruction. Max, as a symbol of civilization, was a very emotional figure whose range soared as high as laughter and comedy with friends and family, right down to fear and depression when he began to realize that he seemed to be becoming no better than the gangs on the roads. It was through the character of Max Rockatansky that the overall theme of the film series, the Darwinian concept of "survival of the fittest," was illustrated. Resigning from the Force Patrol, Max left with his wife Jessie and infant son for a life of solitude in the quiet countryside. But the gang, lead by Toecutter, stalked the Rockatanskys. Ruthlessly, they ran down and murdered both his son and wife before his eyes, deaths which had a shattering effect on Max, for they transformed him into a bitter being full of hatred and anger. With his lighter emotions vanquished, Max embraced his darker side; he broke out his MFP leathers and commandeered a supercharged black Interceptor prototype called the Pursuit Special, thereby becoming "Mad Max." As Mad Max, he carried out the bloody revenge killings of those he held responsible for his family's deaths. Having been reduced to a shell of a man as a result of those deaths, Max then permanently left behind what little was left of civilization and drove off into the desolate wasteland, apparently not to return. ''The Road Warrior'' Approximately five years later, Mad Max was surviving in solitude with the sole aid of a dog he picked up along the way, having not returned to any major city. His Pursuit Special had become his home, and Max scavenged the wastes of the Outback for water, oil, and petrol (gas) daily. One day Max happened upon a mysterious-looking craft, an "autogyro" or "gyrocopter," sitting desolate alongside the road. As Max investigated the lonely gyro, presumably for petrol and anything useful, he was surprised to be ambushed from below as a man called the Gyro Captain emerged from the ground. The decoy-ploy worked momentarily as it seemed the Gyro Captain had outwitted Max and was about to steal his car and belongings. That was until Max's pet "Dog" jumped the Gyro Captain, giving Max the advantage. In order to preserve his life, the Gyro Captain told Max that he knew of a place where he could get all the petrol he wanted, explaining that there was a little compound refining it straight from the ground. The Gyro Captain led him to the wasteland plains, where Max discovered the besieged group of settlers--and life changed drastically again for him. With a fortress constructed out of an old oil refinery, these civilized people were being harassed constantly by a tribe of heavy metal barbarians, lead by Lord Humungus, trying to steal their oil for their own. Abiding by the major themes of good and evil, and light and dark, the compound dwellers were garbed in white and light gray, while the clothes of the post-apocalyptic horde were predominantly black. As Max and the Gyro Captain staked out the compound, they witnessed several vehicles leaving the compound in an effort to escape the horde of Humungus. All of the vehicles were destroyed quickly and abruptly. Max and the Gyro Captain witnessed the occupants of one vehicle beaten, the woman raped, and the man shot with steel arrows. As such an opportunist as all humans had seemingly become, Max seized upon this event to gain trust, entry, and perhaps fuel from the occupants of the refinery by rescuing the refugees. Unfortunately, Max was able to rescue only one, the man, Nathan, who had been shot with arrows. Max and Nathan made a deal that if Max saved his life and returned him to the refinery, Max could fuel up and get supplies. However, upon Max's delivering the refugee to the compound, Nathan died before he could convey the pact to the settlers' leader, Pappagallo. Having no bargain, the compound dwellers, suspicious of Max, treated him as a spy and an enemy, and handcuffed him to some piping. Whilst he was there, Max witnesses a confrontation between Humungus and the compound dwellers, wherein Humungus attempted to reason and bargain with them, telling them that if they walked away from the refinery no one would be killed. Of course, Pappagallo refused to believe those words, but there was internal strife among them, with some wanting to take Humungus up on his offer. Again, seeing an opportunity, Max told the compound dwellers, "Two days ago I saw a vehicle that could haul that tanker. You wanna get out of here? You talk to me." Thus Max made a bargain to go for the tanker in exchange for all the fuel he could carry and some supplies. Max trekked across the wild outback, occupied by the barbarians, under cover of darkness. Eventually he got to the tanker and drove it back to the compound. However, Wez, and a few of his cohorts, attacked the tanker and infiltrated the compound. The refinery dwellers, led by Pappagallo and the Warrior Woman, fought back, repelling Wez and his fellow barbarians. Pappagallo was injured during the skirmish. Max, having fulfilled his part of the bargain, stocked up his Pursuit Special with the full intention of leaving. Pappagallo attempted to convince Max to stay and drive the tanker for them, to get back some of his lost humanity, but Max refused. Instead he screamed off into the wasteland in an attempt to escape the barbarian horde and put this episode long behind him. Wez refused to allow that, though. He and the gang chased Max down and attacked him, causing him to wreck at high speed, nearly killing him. His Pursuit Special was totalled and exploded into a ball of fire, thanks to the little bomb Max had booby-trapped to the tank. Fortunately, Max had a guardian angel of sorts as the Gyro Captain, spotted a smoke tendril on the horizon. He checked it out and found Max wrecked and injured. He piloted Max back to the compound where the dwellers patched him up. At this point, with nothing in the world left at all of his ability to survive on his own, Max agreed to drive the tanker; indeed, he insisted on driving the tanker. But after the dwellers succeeded, with Max's assistance, in running Humungus's blockade, in whose course Humungus himself was killed along with most of his barbarian gang, the tanker was wrecked, and proved to have been filled with sand rather than fuel. It had all been an elaborate decoy to allow the refinery dwellers to escape. (The refugees had hidden the precious fuel in their vehicles.) Max was disillusioned at having been so deceived, and that he had engaged in all that work for what, to him, now appeared to be nothing. A broken man once more, Max left them behind as they headed one way and him the other. ''Beyond Thunderdome'' Thirteen years had passed since the events in The Road Warrior, and the desolate wasteland had changed Max almost completely. His hair long, clothes torn and leathers battered, Max ended up wandering to Bartertown, the first civilisation he had seen since Jessie's and Sprog's murders. Eventually getting into trouble, Max had to battle his way through Thunderdome, a bloodsport created to settle differences between individuals. Max showed a brief glimmer of humanity when he refused to end the life of Blaster, a gladiator unsure of the bloodsport in which he was engaging, for he suffered from Down's Syndrome. As punishment, Max ended up being exiled into the desert for his decision. It was here that Max was saved by a tribal settlement of children who believed him to be their legendary figure - Captain Walker. The good nature shown before in Bartertown turned to a sour anger when Max painfully crushed their dreams, explaining that he was NOT Captain Walker and that their Tomorrow-Morrow Land, to which they talk about one day travelling, was nothing but a figment of their imaginations and instead told them of the dystopian state of the world. It was not till some of the children decided to leave regardless for Tomorrow-Morrow-Land across the desert that Max snapped to his senses and set out to save them from their own peril. Eventually saving them, and befriending and freeing some inhabitants of Bartertown nearby - Max completed his full circle, as there was not a shred of disappointment for Max as he said farewell this time. His humanity restored, Max again left for the wasteland, apparently not to be seen again - only to be passed down in legend by the children and the inhabitants of the refinery he had saved years before. Max's Age Although disputed amoungst the fan community and even George Miller himself, canon follows what Miller has said in interviews . *''Mad Max'' - About 23 years old (based on Mel Gibson's age at the time). *''Mad Max: Road Warrior'' - This occured five years after the events of Mad Max, placing Max's age at about 28 years old. *''Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome'' - This takes place thirteen years after Road Warrior making Max about 41 years old. Appearance One of the most iconic cult classic characters and one that sports outfits and clothes recognisable by so many, the character of Mad Max changes drastically over the years. The first film was shot on an extremely tight budget, all MFP uniforms were constructed of vinyl with plastic shoulder-caps, with exception to Max and Goose's outfits (which were made entirely out of leather) The once immaculate MFP uniform he wore throughout the second film consists of fine, tough leather with armoured plates attached to much of the outfit. As the years progress so does the wear on the uniform. It becomes dusty and ripped in places and is missing the right sleeve where Max supposedly cut it off to help bandage the broken arm given to him, along with a shattered knee, at the end of the first film. A metal leg-brace that helps Max walk from the leg injury is seen in the second film. This brace was actually constructed of tail-gate hinges from a pickup truck, with an attached kneepad and leather straps. Eventually, Max's hair grows wild and the jacket shows evidence of even more usage. He also adorns a robe and cloak to shield himself from the desert sands. Equipment During the first two films, Max makes use of a V8 Interceptor: a limited 351cu version of a 1973 Ford XB GT Falcon Hardtop, though he drives a different vehicle (an MFP Interceptor) earlier in the first film which is a 4door version of the XB Ford Falcon. In the third movie, after the destruction of the Pursuit Special, Max acquires a custom built 4 by 4, but having no fuel to power it, its powered by a pair of camels, which he later loses. Max is armed with a Smith & Wesson model 28 .357 magnum revolver (as his main sidearm, which he never uses, or even draws) this is the standard issue sidearm of the Main Force Patrol. Once Jessie and Sprog are killed he favours a sawed-off double barrel shotgun. The exact model is unknown but it may be a Savage/Stevens 311A or a VG Bentley. Unmodified Bentleys are carried by other members of the MFP. The shotgun is his weapon of choice (though he gains several more during the course of his time in the wasteland) until it is confiscated upon his arrival in Bartertown. A different model of shotgun appears in each of the three movies, however they all seem to be modified pre-1950 hammerless boxlock-action shotguns. In the second film he is also armed with a Vietnam War-era Gerber combat knife, which he pulls several times, once on the Gyro Captain. Max is also briefly seen carrying a model 1912 Winchester early in the film. In the third film, he is shown to have a plethora of weapons hidden on his person, including a different older sawed off double barrel shotgun, a Mauser C96 Broomhandle '(very likely taken from a dead Bubba Zanetti) and several other pistols, a crossbow, and a collection of knives, all of which are confiscated. Abilities Without any doubt, Max's natural skill is driving. He was once considered the "top pursuit man" in the MFP. These abilities later lend themselves to driving offroad, evading gangs and wreckages easily and outdriving or ramming them off the road. Max even drives a large truck despite being severely injured. He is a very capable hand to hand combatant in good physical condition. Max's reflexes are lightning quick by the second film as he manages to capture a snake before it bites him. In the third film, 'Aunty Entity chose him to kill Master Blaster due to being the only one surviving her "audition". Mechanic skills enable Max to perform minor repairs on his vehicles, and even to rig one to explode - like his Pursuit Special. It is worth noting that a number of "Hero rules" don't apply to Max. Gunshot trauma to his left leg during the events of Mad Max is still apparent in Mad Max 2, as he walks with a slight limp and wears a leg brace, and still even wears a bandage on the knee in Mad Max 3. He has also had multiple near-death experiences almost all of which occur due to car crashes. Director George Miller had been a medical doctor prior to a film-maker, many of the injuries shown in the films are based on car-crash trauma he had treated in real life. Reception Entertainment Weekly ranked the character eleventh on its list of the top twenty "All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture" in April 2009. The magazine also listed the characters portrayed by Kevin Costner in Waterworld and The Postman as "copycat descendants" of Max Rockatansky."The Top 20 All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture," Entertainment Weekly 1041 (April 3, 2009). References External Links Mad Max on imdb Category:Characters Category:MFP officers